Archive for June, 2010

Someday I’d like to have a go at keeping bees, so here’s a link to an interesting site on natural beekeeping.

I’ve ordered the book, The Barefoot Beekeeper which is advertised there. Not sure if I’ll be game enough to go barefoot around bees, but this method looks simple and sounds more natural and better for the bees.

I’m convinced that civilisational collapse is a given; climate change and resource depletion are upon us and there’s little we can do about it. The basic problem is how we think about ourselves and our relationship to the rest of life. There are even indications that this might be hard-wired into us and if so, then what’s coming, in a sense, was pre-ordained.

There are too many of us, consuming finite, non-renewable resources and consuming renewable ones at an unsustainable rate. We’re also damaging the ecological systems that support life on this planet.

Mother Nature’s solution to our personal, human-induced crisis is to ‘cull the herd’. Millions will die in the ensuing collapse until our numbers are reduced to levels that the earth’s resources can support.

This is Basic Ecology 101, and anyone who doesn’t ‘get’ it is in for a huge shock in the years to come.

Since I became aware of the problems, I’ve been trying to get people to understand what’s ahead and to prepare. I’ve found that all I get is denial and anger (boy! do I get anger!), so I’ve decided that I won’t broach the subject of resource depletion or climate change with anyone any more.

What I’ll do is continue to make preparations; to attempt to become self-sufficient in food, water and fuelwood. It may not be enough, of course. If the majority don’t prepare, then those that haven’t will be coming to take what I’ve got from me as they scramble to survive. It may not do them much good either, since most won’t know how to maintain self-sufficiency even if they find it. Most people are ignorant of these basics, having become accustomed to the idea that someone else will always be there to grow their food for them, harvest and transport it to the nearest supermarket, and provide them with seemingly limitless amounts of water and energy.

The next few decades in humanity’s history should be interesting. Not pleasant …..but interesting.